Rutgers class of 2014 commit, Justin Nelson (No.1)Photo taken by the Nelson family, used with permission

Wednesday, Rutgers received their second class of 2014 football commitment from DePaul Catholic's (Wayne, N.J.) Justin Nelson -- a 6-1, 250-pound defensive end -- at the end of an unofficial visit to the Rutgers campus.

One thing that stood out to Nelson during the visit was although football is important at Rutgers, the student part of being an student-athlete takes precedent over everything else at the school.

"I basically got to spend a day in the life of a Rutgers player," said Nelson. "At 12 (p.m. ET), everything football-wise shuts down, and from 12 on, you're just a student. Anything extra you want to do involving football, you can do. But they make sure school is a big part of everything, so that was a big plus."

Nelson, a longtime Rutgers fan, was recently offered by the Scarlet Knights after a strong 2012 junior season in which he dominated behind the line of scrimmage. He selected Rutgers over an offer from UMass but was also being courted heavily by Boston College, Miami, Pittsburgh and Maryland among others.

"Growing up I always rooted for Rutgers, and it was just a feeling I had," Nelson said. "I felt like there was nowhere else I wanted to see. It was just the place I wanted to spend my college career and do big things there. I want to play in the Big Ten; I want to be part of that family."

Nelson overcame an academic struggle from his freshman year to rebound in the classroom, which has put him in position to end up with the Scarlet Knights.

His skills make him be a shoo-in to perform from the "R" position in which Nelson will be able to fully utilize his skills in coverage, as well as his ability to get to the quarterback.

"I got to spend some one-on-one time with (defensive line) coach Jim Panagos. He was just telling me about the position he could see me playing in: the 'R' position.I feel that fits the mold for me exactly," he said. "I think I can specialize in those two things."

According to Nelson, Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood was ecstatic when he received word from Nelson that he wold be playing for the Scarlet Knights on the collegiate level.

"At the end of the day, we sat down in Coach Flood's office," said Nelson, "and he basically said it like this: 'What would make you commit to Rutgers?' And my mom and dad were sitting there, and in my head, I'm like 'I want to commit to RU right now but I want to talk to my family first.' He asked my parents, and they gave me the OK. They see what I see in Rutgers. After that, it was a no-brainer.

"(When I told him I was coming), he was really happy," Nelson continued. "He jumped out of the chair, ran into the office and got all the coaches together. All the coaches congratulated me. It was a feeling I cant even explain."